PRESS RELEASE: CHROMOLUME THEATRE PRESENTS “BIRD LIVES!” BY WILLARD MANUS, AUGUST 15 — SEPTEMBER 21

CHROMOLUME THEATRE AT THE ATTIC
PRESENTS
BIRD LIVES!
A SOLO PLAY WITH MUSIC
BY WILLARD MANUS
STARRING MONTAE RUSSELL
DIRECTED BY TOMMY HICKS

AUGUST 15 — SEPTEMBER 21 ONLY

Chromolume Theatre has announced Bird Lives! as its next production, opening on Friday, August 15 at 8pm. Written by Willard Manus and directed by Tommy Hicks, Bird Lives! will star Montae Russell as jazz icon Charlie Parker in this solo play with music. Parker, a legendary saxophone virtuoso, ushered in a new era of jazz by pioneering bebop and influencing subsequent generations of musicians. Bird Lives! will play a strictly limited engagement through September 21 only.

Montae Russell is a veteran television, theatre, and film actor. He was seen on NBC’s ER for 15 seasons as paramedic Dwight Zadro, and his other film and cable credits include The Player’s Club, HBO’s Laurel Avenue, TNT’s Lily in Winter, One Life to Live. Russell has made many television episodic appearances including Shameless, Detroit 187, and Cold Case, to name only a few. Stage credits include King Hedley II, A Few Good Men, Prelude to a Kiss (Broadway); Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and Fences (Kennedy Center); East Texas Hotlinks (Public Theater); The Glass Menagerie (Cleveland Playhouse); the solo show Thurgood; The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry; Jitney. Russell is active in the South Los Angeles area with his non-profit organization Successful Youth Los Angeles. www.MontaeRussell.com.

Playwright Willard Manus has had numerous plays produced in Los Angeles. Frank and Ava, a two-character play about Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, recently concluded a six-month run at Three Clubs in Hollywood after winning a Best Play prize in the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Marilyn—My Secret, co-written with Odalys Nanin, is now running at the Macha Theatre. Among his other plays are Bridge and Berlin Cowboys. Manus is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.

Director Tommy Hicks is more widely known for his starring roles in independent feature films including Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It!, Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, and Charles Burnett’s The Glass Shield. Hicks is a former Walt Disney Studios Screenwriting Fellowship Award Winner, and has lectured on theatre, film, and television at university campuses across the country. He directed Champion at the Skylight Theatre which later moved to New York City’s New Federal Theatre for a critically acclaimed run. Most recently, Hicks directed Willard Manus’ ‘Roid Rage at the Write Act Theatre in Hollywood, Bird Lives! at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, and Mim & Rose at Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. Hicks is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit.

The Chromolume design team for Bird Lives! will include Daniel Ingram (scenic) Samantha Marie (lighting), Amy Mazzaferro (costumes), and James Esposito (sound). The stage manager is Lauren J. Peters.

Bird Lives! opens on Friday, August 15 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through September 21. Tickets are $20, with discounts for students and seniors ($17) and children 12 and under ($15), and may be purchased online at www.crtheatre.com, or via telephone at 323-205-1617. Chromolume Theatre at the Attic is located at 5429 W. Washington Boulevard (between the 10 freeway and Hauser Boulevard), in Los Angeles, 90016. Ample street parking is available.

For more information, visit www.crtheatre.com or call 323-510-2688.

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07-29-14

Announcing: ‘Altar Boyz’ Opens at Chromolume Theatre Friday 4/4 at 8pm – Six Weeks Only

CHROMOLUME THEATRE AT THE ATTIC
PRESENTS
BOOK BY KEVIN DEL AGUILA
MUSIC & LYRICS BY
GARY ADLER & MICHAEL PATRICK WALKER
CHOREOGRAPHY BY SAMANTHA WHIDBY
DIRECTED BY KRISTIN TOWERS-ROWLES

APRIL 4 — MAY 11 ONLY

Chromolume Theatre has announced Altar Boyz, the 9th longest-running off-Broadway musical of all time, as its next production. The show has a book by Kevin Del Aguila and music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker, and will be directed for Chromolume by Kristin Towers-Rowles. With choreography by Samantha Whidby and music direction by Richard Berent, opening is set for Friday, April 4 at 8pm. Altar Boyz will play a strictly limited engagement through May 11 only.

Altar Boyz is a foot-stomping, rafter-raising musical comedy satire about a fictitious Christian boy-band on the last night of their national “Raise the Praise” tour. The Boyz are five all-singing, all-dancing heartthrobs from Ohio — Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham. With their tight harmonies and spectacular choreography, the Altar Boyz will delight as they perform their signature hits such as “Rhythm In Me,” “The Calling,” and “I Believe,” all the while trying to reduce the number of burdened souls in the theatre to zero by the end of the concert.

The Chromolume cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Joey Acuna, Jason Chacon, Michael Marchak, Craig McEldowney, and Tyler Vess. Scenic and sound design are by James Esposito, lighting design is by Craig Batory, costume design is by Wes Jenkins, and the stage manager is Lauren J. Peters.

Director Kristin Towers-Rowles is a third generation musical theatre actress. Her grandmother was the MGM film star Kathryn Grayson and her grandfather was musician, film actor and Broadway leading man Johnny Johnston. Her mother, Patricia Towers, was a stage actress and singer and her father, Robert Towers, is also a film/stage/TV/radio vet of almost 65 years. Towers-Rowles performed in several national and international tours and at theatres all over California. She spent a year in rep at Sierra Repertory Company and also directed for Kelrik Productions in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. She is the co-artistic director of Sustaining Sound Theatre Company.

Altar Boyz opens on Friday, April 4 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through May 11. Tickets are $28, with discounts for students and seniors ($25) and children 12 and under ($23), and may be purchased online at www.crtheatre.com, or via telephone at 323-205-1617. Chromolume Theatre at the Attic is located at 5429 W. Washington Boulevard (between the 10 freeway and Hauser Boulevard), in Los Angeles, 90016. Ample street parking is available.

For more information, visitwww.crtheatre.com or call 323-510-2688.

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03-13-14

Announcing: ‘The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!’ at Chromolume Theatre – November 8 Thru December 8 Only

CHROMOLUME THEATRE AT THE ATTIC
PRESENTS

BOOK BY JOANNE BOGART & ERIC ROCKWELL
MUSIC BY ERIC ROCKWELL, LYRICS BY JOANNE BOGART
DIRECTED BY KRISTIN TOWERS-ROWLES

NOVEMBER 8 – DECEMBER 8 ONLY

Chromolume Theatre has announced its next production, The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! The show has a book by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell, music by Rockwell, and lyrics by Bogart, and will be directed for Chromolume by Kristin Towers-Rowles. With choreography by Anna Rubin and music direction by Richard Berent, opening is set for Friday, November 8 at 8pm. The Musical of Musicals will play a strictly limited engagement through December 8 only.

The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! is a musical about musicals! In this hilarious satire of musical theatre, one story becomes five delightful musicals, each written in the distinctive style of a different master of the form, from Rodgers & Hammerstein to Stephen Sondheim — and they all deal with the same classic melodrama plot — “I can’t pay the rent!” First presented off Broadway in 2003 by the York Theatre Company, the show earned four Drama Desk Award nominations including Outstanding Musical, and a Lucille Lortel Award nomination, also for Outstanding Musical. Productions subsequently ran in London, Canada, and at regional theatres all over the United States.

The Chromolume cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Jean Altadel, Eduardo Enrikez, Jason Peter Kennedy, and Christina Morrell. Scenic and sound design are by James Esposito, lighting design is by Lauren Wemischner, costume design is by Kara McLeod, and the stage manager is Lauren Peters.

Director Kristin Towers-Rowles is a third generation musical theatre actress. Her grandmother was the MGM film star Kathryn Grayson and her grandfather was musician, film actor and Broadway leading man Johnny Johnston. Her mother, Patricia Towers, was a stage actress and singer and her father, Robert Towers, is also a film/stage/TV/radio vet of almost 65 years. Towers-Rowles performed in several national and international tours and at theatres all over California. She spent a year in rep at Sierra Repertory Company and also directed for Kelrik Productions in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. She is the co-artistic director of Sustaining Sound Theatre Company.

The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! opens on Friday, November 8 at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm (except 12/8, when curtain is at 7pm), and the run ends December 8. Tickets are $28, with discounts for students and seniors ($25) and children 12 and under ($23), and may be purchased online at www.crtheatre.com, or via telephone at 323-205-1617. Chromolume Theatre at the Attic is located at 5429 W. Washington Boulevard (between the 10 freeway and Hauser Boulevard), in Los Angeles, 90016. Ample street parking is available.

For more information, visit www.crtheatre.com or call 323-510-2688.

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10-08-13